Man jailed for violent bottle attack on two passengers on Glasgow to Perth train service

A man who launched a violent glass bottle attack on two men on board a train has been jailed for 12 years.

Thomas Craig, 48, struck a passenger twice over the head before stabbing another with the smashed neck of the Buckfast bottle during the incident on 16 February 2024.

Craig, of East Renfrewshire, was found guilty of assaulting one man to the danger of his life and the attempted murder of a second man at the High Court in Glasgow in November.

At the same court on Monday, he was handed a 15-year extended sentence, with 12 years in jail and three years on licence once released back into the community.

Judge Lord Arthurson said: "On a busy train you launched an appallingly violent attack on two men who were complete strangers to you.

"Members of the public have every right to be able to travel on public transport safely and without fear."

The drunken attack occurred on a Glasgow to Perth service.

The court heard how an intoxicated Craig began speaking to other passengers on the train who were sat across the aisle from him.

Within 10 minutes he hurled an insult at his first victim, before suddenly jumping from his seat and striking him twice over the head with the bottle.

The man fled through the train, but Craig chased him and continued to strike him with the bottle until it smashed, leaving him holding its jagged broken neck.

Lord Arthurson said: "You ran towards your first victim striking him on the neck with the bottle.

"The second man courageously came to the assistance of his friend."

Craig punched his second victim multiple times before he twice thrusted the broken neck of the glass bottle into his chest.

The man's injuries, which included a stab wound close to his heart, a collapsed lung, and a severed artery that resulted in him losing around 15% of his blood, left him in intensive care.

Lord Arthurson described the assault on the second man as "a wholly murderous attack".

Both victims were said to be in their early 20s at the time of the incident.

Following the attack, Craig returned to his seat and threw the neck of the bottle towards where the victims had been sitting.

He grabbed one of the victim's phones and pocketed it, before walking down the train and removing his blood-soaked jumper, replacing it with a clean hoodie from his belongings.

Police and paramedics met the train at Larbert railway station where Craig was arrested and both victims were treated for their injuries before being urgently taken to hospital.

Lord Arthurson praised other passengers who came to the aid of the victims, including a nurse who helped on board.

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The court heard that Craig had been drinking alcohol for several hours and had also taken cocaine before the attack.

Tony Graham KC, representing the defendant, said there was nothing he could say in mitigation but described his client as a man who has struggled with drug and alcohol addiction and feels remorse over the incident.

The lawyer said: "He understands the damage he has done, he understands the suffering he has caused and he understands that those short moments on that train will live with and probably haunt forever his victims."

He added: "This is a man who recognises he has done wrong. This is a man who recognises the potentially devastating consequences, averted in this case."

Detective Inspector Marc Francey, of the British Transport Police, said: "I am extremely pleased with the result the court has handed down today - Craig acted with mindless aggression that day, attacking his two victims over a minor disagreement.

"His indiscriminate and thuggish actions could have resulted in far more severe consequences, and he will now face the consequences and spend the next 12 years behind bars.

"It is thanks only to luck and to the lifesaving work of the paramedics that Craig hasn't been found guilty of something far worse.

"I hope this sentence brings a measure of closure to the victims and their families after such a brutal attack."

(c) Sky News 2026: Man jailed for violent bottle attack on two passengers on Glasgow to Perth train service